When we looked at Superman: the Man of Steel #30, I didn't think we would see this follow-up issue anytime soon, yet here we are! From 1994, L.E.G.I.O.N. '94 #63, "We Fight and Fight and Fight" Written by Tom Peyer, pencils by Arnie Jorgensen, inks by James Pascoe.

The title and the cover make it seem like this is going to be an all-out Superman vs. Lobo slobberknocker of a brawl...and they don't fight at all here, really. Lobo drags Superman to the End of the Line bar, to finally show those barflys and drunks that Superman really was his sidekick. A bit of violence ensues, until one inventive thug slaps a rocket on Lobo's back--"on that little spot on my back I can never reach!"--and launches his ass at a sun! Superman of course saves him, and while Lobo begs him not to tell the guys he had to be rescued, Supes still lets it slip before he takes off.

Sixteen pages of this one go to the book's ongoing plots: Stealth and Vril Dox fight over their son, a surprisingly articulate baby; Lady Quark brings in Garryn Bek for desertion, but may be revealed to be something else; and Strata's attempt at a romantic gesture does not work out at all. I'm not sure how the Lady Quark plot worked out, but that one looked interesting.

It's not a good sign if you can't tell the new guy from the old one.

I'm not sure why the change, but here's the second Torpedo, in today's book: from 1975, Daredevil #127, "You Killed that Man, Torpedo--and Now You're Going to Pay!" Written and edited by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Bob Brown, inks by Klaus Janson.

The original Torpedo is dead, but he's convinced bystander Brock Jones to carry on his mysterious crusade. (And possibly trade clothes, unless the original was wearing a tie and jacket beneath the super-suit.) Unfortunately, Daredevil can't see the difference: the original had gray hair, while Brock had blond sticking out of his mask. Moreover, the Torpedo-suit is too noisy for DD to hear his heart, so he can't tell if he's lying or not. Brock gets one punch in on Daredevil and takes off, leaving DD to take out his frustration on district attorney Foggy Nelson. Seriously, he's kind of a dick here; I'm also not sure how Brock was able to instantly master a suit that "would make Iron Man's armor look like a third grade Tinkertoy set!" (Anyone who made a suit of armor says crap like that; and Iron Man must just chuckle and shake his head...)

After a brief stop at home, and an encounter with possible future love interest (or sexual predator) Heather Glenn, Matt Murdock stops by to help Foggy, and hears the Torpedo was on his way to Westchester. Torpedo was looking to make sure there weren't any more copies of the plans for the suit, and explains the backstory while still fighting Daredevil: he wants to make him understand, but won't stop fighting since he doesn't trust him. The fight goes on long enough that both of them are good and mad at each other, and they don't stop until a screaming mom makes them realize they just demolished a family's home. Both men are appropriately contrite, with Torpedo giving DD the evidence and taking off, maybe or maybe not to appear again.

Okay, he'd be back in DD #134; but if you've been reading this blog for, well, ever, you may remember Brock's unfortunate fate.

"Service."

Are Ghost Rider, Vengeance, and that lot any good ahead of time? Will they save you, or wait until something happens to you so they can get revenge? Maybe They Might Be Giants know the Spirit of Prevenge.

Some of Warlock's gibberish might be recognizable: it's the universal greeting, from Transformers: The Movie! Which works everywhere in the universe except apparently on earth.

I do kinda expect a scene like this in the movie:

This wasn't quite the last issue of this series, but pretty much. From 1992, Aquaman #12, "Spoils of War" Written by Shaun McLaughlin, pencils by Ken Hooper, inks by Bob Dvorak.

A few plotlines would be wrapped up this issue, or at least about as wrapped up as they were gonna be: Aquaman returns briefly to Poseidonis, to be fired. The king tells him he's no longer their ambassador to the United Nations, partly because he kept getting wrapped up in superhero business, but largely because the king felt he may have undermined his authority. (I have no idea how Arthur wasn't king at this point, or what claim to the throne that king had.) Arthur tells him he quits, then checks on Vulko, who has also been fired, as he was a tie to the old regime. Vulko wanted to check out Tritonis, and Arthur, wanting to keep him safe, accompanies him.

Tritonius was the home of the mer-people, and currently fighting a civil war; albeit a rather civil one with rules and timekeepers. Their hero, Iqula, explains that their war must be fair, or how else could the righteous win? The king is starting to feel differently, though, and orders Iqula's wife S'ona captured. Vulko gets caught with her, and points out a plot point that might cause her problems later: she wore the mark of Kordax, an ancient ruler with the ability to communicate with sea life, blond hair, and total evil. Kordax was so evil, for years after the Atlanteans would kill any child born with blond hair. When Aquaman and Iqula counterattack, the king's men reveal S'ona's blonde hair, but Iqula rallies his men to not allow "superstition to stand in the way of freedom!"

S'ona had the ability to control fish as well, using some sharks to intimidate a man later; and the king's forces are defeated. Vulko was going to stay, and gives Arthur the Atlantis Chronicles...which I don't know if he would have if he had read them all the way through, since I think there were some revelations in there Arthur wouldn't like. That would be touched upon in the next series of Aquaman, this one was almost done, and left a few plot threads hanging: a possible love interest for Aquaman at the U.N, an Atlantean minister that had been immune to the Scarecrow's fear gas, the king's conflict with Aquaman. That last one would get wrapped up later, since it looks like Thesily would die in a seaquake, but I don't think Iqula or S'ona would appear later.

"Cyber Monday" is nonsense, but I'm still taking the day off.

I had vacation days I had to use, so this worked out all right. I also did not have a huge amount of Christmas shopping this year--my sons and nephews are the age where they're probably just getting GameStop gift cards--but I did get a couple of things over the weekend.

For starters, I got the Wal-Mart exclusive Batman and Cyborg figures...from a Ross store. For about six bucks each. I probably could've bought another, walked it to the nearby Wal-Mart, and exchanged it for, say, that new Harley Quinn figure, but that seems like a dick move. On the other hand, that Wal-Mart still has Bats and Cyborg on the shelf at full price...That same Wal-Mart, I had a copy of Justice League on DVD in my hand, but even for four bucks it didn't feel worth buying. These figures, just barely more so.

The regular edition Batman for Justice League, with the Steppenwolf Collect-n-Connect piece, has some slight paint differences, but also has a Batman head with goggles. The exclusive is a more traditional Bat-Fleck head, but man, those should've just been included as swappable heads. Ditto Cyborg: the exclusive is a fully masked head, which feels too small for an actual skull to fit in. It's not the first time Mattel's tried to double-dip on Cyborg, either: way back in the DCUC days, Cyborg had an exclusive with an alternate sonic-cannon hand, that also should've just been included.

Batman's cape is some kind of synthetic, instead of plastic, and while it curls a bit on the sides, it's not bad. He may work a little better with a vehicle, if you have one for him. Oh, and these two didn't come with any accessories or Steppenwolf parts: instead, if you buy both, you can build three Mother Boxes. Not the traditional Kirby ping-ping-ping ones, but the death-MacGuffin ones from the movie. I'm sure I'll end up using them in the background somewhere.

I ended up unimpressed with Cyborg, but I had a spare Ultron head from the recent Marvel retro-carded Vision. (I kinda wish that one had a cape like this Batman, actually; Vish already has much greater range of motion.)

Doc Ock was picked up a bit ago, but the GameStop exclusive Gamerverse Spider-Man is new. Fwoosh has a very good review, that points out this is a thicker, more super-heroey build than the leaner "pizza Spidey," so subject to taste. It mentioned not being able to do anything with the attached weblines, but play around with those a bit: I do also wish he came with the open, "splayed" hands some others have got. That, and their review of the Disney Toybox Spider-Mobile...man, that one is tempting.

Oh, and Mr. Mxyzptlk! Also from GameStop, although I got mine without the Kalibak Collect-n-Connect pieces. Which is fine: all these years, I think I would've had two mismatched pieces from the original version. If fans complained about the lack of articulation for Spider-Ham, they really should've pitched a fit for Mxy here, except I seem to recall he was an overpriced, specialty release. Really needed a stand or something.

(I don't think Kilg%re is really an imp, but Calamity Jon suggested anyone good at their job might have one!)

If the Werewolf eats that bunny, I'm going to lose it...

I got a coverless copy of this one at a toy show, and the Werewolf was front and center; but the plot seems more fitting for a Conan book: from 1973, Werewolf by Night #8, "The Lurker Behind the Door!" Written by Len Wein, pencils by Werner Roth, inks by Paul Reinman.

Having escaped from his captivity at a circus, the Werewolf meanders through the California forests until he bumps into a pair of hunters. Glanced by a bullet, he takes a fall off a cliff, but wakes up as Jack Russell not much the worse for wear. Still, with one more night of full moon that month, Jack decides it might be safer to sit tight for the time being, rather than ask his friends to pick him up just in time for him to wolf out. Finding a cave, Jack meets a rather friendly bunny rabbit; but then hears something moaning in the cave. Exploring, with the bunny tagging along, he then finds an old, padlocked door; breaking it open, he discovers...nothing. Just outside the door, though, he then sees a skeleton and a diary; both belonging to a warlock, who died trying to contain a demon he had summoned, Krogg.

Jack's not overly impressed with the tale, though, since there was nothing behind the door, and falls asleep, only to wake up when the moon rises. The Werewolf starts to hunt, but is himself being hunted, by the released Krogg! Krogg was grateful for being set free, and in his gratitude wanted to kill his liberator quickly and painlessly. The Werewolf probably doesn't follow much of that conversation, but isn't one to go down easily. Krogg goes on, though: he was "an elemental force" that needed a body, and while he wanted Jack's, the wolf already called dibs there, so he had to take the bunny and change it to more fit him. Killing the hunters from the night before, Krogg is back up to full strength, and chases the Werewolf back into the cave. Still, a poorly-aimed fireball brings the cave down on Krogg, as the Werewolf walks off into the night, not noticing a possibly-sinister bunny escape the cave as well...

Looking it up, Krogg has yet to appear again, so he could still be roaming around as a bunny. If there's any forest in California left for him, that is. Still, Krogg mentions being imprisoned for centuries...in California? The warlock looked like a white guy, and the diary was in English. Not where I'd expect to find a mysterious door, then.

Hopefully, picking up the Gauntlet sometime today.

In theory, I could have started the new Mystery Science Theater 3000: the Gauntlet on Netflix at midnight, and be done maybe before noon? Yeah, I don't see that happening, so it's going to take me at least a day. My Thanksgiving plan is watch that, the games, and maybe take some pictures for the year-end post. Hope you all have lots to be thankful for, and back tomorrow!

"Randoms."

Let's see: Paladin was largely purchased for a Sasquatch part, since I think I like the idea of the character more than any comics he's actually appeared in. I think Hasbro's gotten a lot of reuse out of that mold, in colors other than purple. Per OAFE's review, it's a reuse of Blade! I didn't plan using them both in the same strip for that reason, just a happy accident. But that mold has been used since in the A.I.M. two-pack.


The Thing, of course, is a unique sculpt, and so great. (EDIT: And Mark Waid and Dan Slott both established the Thing really shouldn't be tooling about in Dr. Doom's time machine. Reed had left signs all over it like "NO!" and "Remember the Alamo!" and implored him and Johnny to leave poor Davy Crockett alone. Or was it Daniel Boone? Well, either way.)